The present application relates generally to an improved data processing apparatus and method and more specifically to mechanisms for decision-tree based address-station matching.
In any given day, more than 14 million packages and documents are picked up and more than 14 million other packages and documents are delivered worldwide. More than 80 percent of the packages that are picked up on one day are delivered to their destination within 48 hours. In that 48 hours, one of the biggest, most impressive step is sorting the packages so that the packages are delivered to their correct destination. Currently, packages being shipped have labels that identify the person to whom the package is being delivered, an address where the package is being delivered, and, if the label is printed using a shipping service system, a code that identities a destination station and/or hub that services the address where the package is being delivered. Utilizing this information, the shipping service routes the package to the correct hub, then to the correct station, and then to the correct address using a hub-and-spoke logistics network. Thus, a package may be processed from the originating address, though a station, one or more hubs, to a destination station, and then to the destination address.